Theo had his first school interview at American International School. We met the primary school principal Beckie Bouchard, who is a NoCaler and relocated to Hong Kong last summer.
The interview consist of recognition of alphabet and phonics sounds of the letters, shapes and counting probably to a hundred since Theo only counted up to 20 without a problem, and colors.
It is a really tough luck situation because Theo knows all those except for phonics sound and reading. The principal said reading starts at 3, which to me isn't a surprise.
She was really honest and realistic with us. She doesn't want to see Theo struggle and fail just as much as we do. And also from a business stand point, get the money for as long as you can and also keeping the school reputation. I am sure she was in an educational cultural shock and how believed the book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother written by Amy Chua. Besides just going to school, extra curricular activities from piano lessons to tutoring to get ahead are highly recommended and kids stay up to midnight doing homework. Hong Kong in an educational cultural stand point would be consider crazy by western standard and in Hong Kong standard western education is lazy.
I was raised the lazy way which here they call it the North American way, but the result yield a 4 years liberal art college educated me. But what is the Hong Kong way of education, as the parents here mentally view education is more important than health. I probably view mental health to be more important. Parents here would drive their young child into boot camp styled discipline and each one lives in a ridge robotic time schedule. This rigidity will backfire when starting college where parents are not the official time keeper. And the funny thing, colleges in the States are highly regarded. Despite all this prepping from birth which could yield the same result either from the crazy or the lazy path. But mentally would this Hong Kong society yield a free thinker? Some student couldn't go through college without their official parent time keeper to keep taps on them. And soon fail miserably because they are now free from living in their parental shadows, what are they to do with so many option yet to explore. My question still stands to produce a natural thinker or a by the book producer?
In a way, I am glad Theo failed as this system would fail him to be a child. But I do believe in setting those basic foundation and literacy is one of them.
At the end of the interview, the principal open us to many new possibilities. We are not the type of parent who would push our children into rigorous routine, but rather foster their natural talents and drive, hopefully away from our own shadows.
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